NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover Report #6

A NASA's Mars Curiosity rover team member gives an update on developments and status of the planetary exploration mission. The Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft delivered Curiosity to its target area on Mars at 1:31:45 a.m. EDT on Aug. 6, which includes the 13.8 minutes needed for confirmation of the touchdown to be radioed to Earth at the speed of light. The rover will conduct a nearly two-year prime mission to investigate whether the Gale Crater region of Mars ever offered conditions favorable for microbial life.

Curiosity carries 10 science instruments with a total mass 15 times as large as the science payloads on NASA's Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity. Some of the tools, such as a laser-firing instrument for checking rocks' elemental composition from a distance, are the first of their kind on Mars. Curiosity will use a drill and scoop, which are located at the end of its robotic arm, to gather soil and powdered samples of rock interiors, then sieve and parcel out these samples into the rover's analytical laboratory instruments.

[zakhenry]

The coin isn't for calibration purposes - it is basically a nod to the geologist tradition of placing a coin or other familiar object next to or on the rock they are photographing to give a sense of scale. It also gives us laypeople a sense of scale when viewing images taken by MAHLI

[crocodylus]

Does soil clinging to the rover's tires suggest the presence of moisture?

[LiFinalmente]

its covered in dust, I guess there is not enough oxygen to oxidize the coin.

[onjofilms]

Living on Mars time sounds like it was a lot of fun.
Is that penny covered with dust or has it oxidized from the Martian atmosphere?

[trollmylove]

no it's just the way the wheel's are designed :P

[leeus]

they are human's no cross breeding here

[momentumj]

So How r u going to stop this? figure out the M of The Galaxy??

[liwainstitut]

it was so tough i rather play all nasa engineers sumultan in chess or go